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Saturday, March 6, 2010

"This is a Raid!"

If you've been wondering when I was going to say something about the ludicrously over-the-top PLCB raids on Memphis Taproom, Local 44, and Resurrection Ale House...wonder no more. It seemed more appropriate to write it at the other blog.

17 comments:

Next time I see 3 feet of snow on my street or a cat in a tree, I will not be so quick to judge. Thankfully those dangerous bottles are off the street where they can't hurt anyone, my snow drifts being a small price. In fact, I am going to donate some money which, hopefully, will be used for H&K MP3 rounds, which can be used for training or the next raid. It would be downright criminal if those bottles were sold and the right people didn't get their money.

In all seriousness, I have been very impressed by the good men and women of PA law enforcement (coming from NY originally, where the state makes their money through citations and not liquor). But every time I hear about the PLCB I just scratch my head. No, no, it floats!... It floats! Throw her into the pond!

Sorry guys, I just could not help myself on this one. This just proves the point why the west coast reigns supreme in the beer universe. Until you folks on the east coast get out of the Stone Age we will continue setting trends, winning GABF medals, and enjoying the rewards of our ingenuity. Cheers!

Yeah, we hardly win any GABF medals in PA...wait, what? Pennsylvania is fifth overall in total GABF medals? With a handicap like the PLCB? Dude, you better hope we stay handicapped, or we'll blow your surfin' asses out of the water!

This just proves the point why the west coast reigns supreme in the beer universe. Until you folks on the east coast get out of the Stone Age we will continue setting trends, winning GABF medals, and enjoying the rewards of our ingenuity.

Meanwhile the area BETWEEN the East and West Coasts (you know, that place with breweries like Bell's, New Glarus, Founder's, Two Brothers, Great Lakes, Three Floyds, Surly and Dark Horse) sits back and laughs...

yeah, thanks anon, for that wonderful PBR trend you hipsters started a while back. At least if you're going to go for a anti-establishment retro beer, do you homework enough to pick one that actually has a BREWERY in a communit somewhere, not some virtual company.

And please start a new trend where not every beer has some kind of mind-numbing hoppage in it, we'd like to be able to think a bit to solve all of our regulatory problems.

I spent Saturday evening chatting with someone who had some 'merchandise' removed from his establishment. He was of the opinion that the latest round was due to someone who was upset that they didn't get (sounds like) Ginny the Unger and they placed a call. Is there any merit to this? Sounds as though this is not the first time.

No, Brian, I don't think there's any merit to that at all. For one thing, there were about 15 bars in the area that got that beer, most that did were quick to publicize it, and only the three bars owned by this couple were raided. For another, that beer was not seized in the raid; I know, I drank it at Memphis Taproom the day after the raid. If it was the impetus/target for the raid, it seems hard to believe that it wasn't seized. Finally, there has been an ongoing, nasty, low-level and borderline insane smear campaign going on against these bars for months in the online community of Philly booze/food forums. Sounds like someone finally got enough bile in their brain and heft in their sack to do something like launching a BLCE torpedo...anonymously. Very, very brave.

Thanks Lew. It sounded a bit far-fetched that someone would go to the trouble simply because they felt slighted. It does seem to be rooted in something just as juvenile though. Makes me think twice before I post about what/where I'm enjoying.

I went on to read your post in the other glass and ran out to grab the newspaper and this does read like a vendetta targeted at the owners with the PLCB as the puppets.

Sad. I'll be writing the legislature yet again. I'm angry as well, and feel like I should do something.

Maybe I'll work on a new app for the phone that contains the registered list. This could come in handy at the distributor when considering a purchase. I'll do my part to protect you all and consume / remove from shelves as much unregistered brew as I can find. Maybe try a sour for my next homebrew and dedicate it this event. How does Sour Assclown sound?

Contacting our elected representatives is the only way to keep this outrage from happening again.

I just sent the following to my local rep:

Dear Senator Mensch:

I'm outraged by the disproportionate and wasteful actions of the Liquor Control Board's agents in Philadelphia recently. Sending dozens of armed State Troopers into bars to confiscate "contraband" contained within their beer inventory (through no fault, error or omission of the bar owners) at a time when the state is broke is becoming a mark of shame far and wide.

I urge you to do the right thing: stand up to the unions that keep the PLCB in place, and reform the Liquor Code, privatizing our state's great Socialist shame. [Inserted b/c I'm way out in Republican country... delete if not necessary for your rep]

Montgomery Country's own Sen. Rafferty has a good beginning bill on the floor, which I hope you will support. I also hope you will push further to modernize our Liquor Code and remove the overblown powers that the LCB's agents have recently abused.

If you have reasons to support keeping the Liquor Code and the PLCB as they are, I'd love to hear them, as I've not yet heard a convincing argument that we don't need massive change in our laws.

Seeing Through the Glass

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All opinions expressed on this blog are strictly my own; they do not reflect those of the publications for which I work.
I've been a full-time drinks writer since 1996. Currently I'm managing editor of Whisky Advocate magazine, and my first whiskey book, "Tasting Whiskey," came out in October 2014. I am the author of four regional brewery guidebooks. Next time you see me at a bar or event or distillery, say hi.